One Thing!

One Thing!

Psalm 27:4 KJV

[4] One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

We come to another song by David, the man after God's own heart. As we know, he was a man of many parts: youngest son of a family of eight boys, shepherd boy, who was used to being alone with the sheep, and then later as  king over Israel, serving in the office of the priest and a prophet when the occasion called for it. He was a man who was driven so many things, but as you read the chapter from where the verse above is taken, you know that there was a reason why this verse is critical to us today. Everywhere David turned at the time, there was danger. As he kept his father's sheep, lions and bears would come, but God gave him victory. Who knew that these stories of victories would one day become a source of encouragement as he faced Goliath years later.  David could call God his light and his salvation, and the strength of his life, so he did not need to fear anyone. 

Can I speak with this same confidence and assurance about God? Do I even know God this way? Life will happen to the best of us. We will go through experiences that will shake our faith or threaten to derail us. We may not always have reasons to laugh out loud, but there is a Presence in us that would keep our hearts joyful, even in the midst of distress and pain. David had enemies, and some of them were very close to him. Imagine being anointed as king, but having to wait twenty years to ascend the throne. Even whilst waiting, he was constantly dodging assasins and government-backed agents who were constantly seeking to kill him. In all these situations, David knew he was preserved by God, and he could sing of the faithfulness of God in all these situations. As I go through this year too, I must come to the realisation that I will only survive when God is on my side. 

Even if war rises against me, there has to be the one thing that matters the most to me, and that is the presence of God. David is called a man after God's own heart because he was always seeking God out. Nothing, not even the sins of adultery and murder, would keep David away from God. Even when his own son rebelled and almost killed him, God was his default setting. Like David, this has to be my default setting too. I cannot make God one of many available options, and at the same time, wonder why things are not going the way they should. I must seek to dwell in the house of God all the days of my life, so I can keep beholding His beauty. This focus helps keep me in check; what and how you see become the inspiration for what you do. It does not have to be many things; it just has to be that one important and eternally critical thing. Who or what is that one thing that your heart yearns for? Make sure it is God. God's time of favour is here.